The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1887-11-24

OF The aloe are growing IN the State suo1oineo
correspondence. handed US from the Executive |
ONCE for publication. shows that the C ture and
manipulation of the plant may add very import
ant industries 70 the resources Of the State The
specimen of fibre mentioned in The letter OF Col
Mason may be seen at the FLoRIDIAN office, and
10 quite convincing rs To rs value and rs to the
quantity Of il which is contained in the pupy
leaf Of the plant. The Maguey Is an important
plant among the Mexicans furnishing them fibre
| for woven fabrics and all cordage uses, and its
juice supplying pu'que, n very refreshing bever-
| age:
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. Nov IS. 1887
| Hon. b. 4. Perry. Governor, Tallahassee
DEAR SIR: In accordance with our converse
lion of to-day, l enclose copy of letter from Mr..
Burden, of Sanford To me, and also specimen of
| the fibre produced by his machine The matter
| involved seems TO me Of Importance to The State
Yours respectfully,
| ALFRED BISHOP MASON.
SANFORD, Fla, Nov IL. 1887.
| Alfred Bishop Mdson, Esq, Jacksonrule. Fla
| DEAR SIR In the following pages l rndeavor
| to comply with your request for Information
relative To the Maguey plant, its character Gull
ture and adaptation 10 10 the soil and climate of
| Florida and its great usefulness as fibre pro-
/ ducing plant
| The Maguey plant is native Of HE island Of
| Cuba and of Mexico. rs name in both these
countries is Maguey Espagnol" :" Spanish
! Maguey"
Ii is perennial and propagatcs itself by
shoots from the bulb, sprnging up around the
parent plant 10 the number OF about twenty five
every year for four years. Then the centre
| stalk shoots upward TO some twenty-five and
even as high as thir!y-fve feet, producing great
| number of white flowers the stem appearing
like the mast of a vessel about six inches in di.
| ameter
Its entire length is covered with shoots when
| il ripens, and when il reaches full maturity It
falls to the ground to renew itself by these suck
ers or shoots taking root and springing up as
new plants thus propagating its kind one hun
bred times more than in the way mentioned al
| ready. Its roots nothing more than soft
fibres or tendrils; il is consequently essentially
| an air plant, living and growing by the conden-
satiOn of the moisture of the atmosphere dcws
that fall. 1t is a plant that never dies, and
| thrives even on the poorest soils. The ordinary
! frosts that would kill all orange trees do MOI
harm il; it needs M care or cultivation and
6ourishes without fertilization. Cattle will not
| destroy it-grubs and insects will not touch it.
This plant is the second in its family, of which
there are five grades or species, all looking alike
and growing, blooming and propagating the
same way-only one after the other becomes
more diminutve in SIZE and in the height OF the
STEM
| founded with the century plant or the Mexican
agave, for these, although of the same cactus
family, differ very materially from the Magucy
: plant, and those of the Mngu.y family The
first of the series of the Maguey plant is the
Sisal hemp, which is largely grown Sisal,
in Yucatan. and is extensively exported to Eng
land and the United States Mexico furnishes large
quantities Of the Magucy fibre 10 the United
States, but Maguey AS grown in Cuba and Mex
leo Qhese countries being more tropical and the
lnt-o hAnu nr\ f.r, sol,a
, longer, though not so strong fibre as that grown
in less tropical countries, such as Florida Here
while its growth lie less spontaneous and luxur
ant, the fibre yielded is finer and stronger
Here, while the product Of leaves may reach up
wards OF 60 tons per acre; in Cuba and Mexico
, | it may reach rs and even 80 tons per acre.
The Sisal hemp as grown in Iucaian, is from
tour to five feet in length, but coarse and unp-
able. 1t is the first of the family of the Maguey
I species
From long experience with the Maguey plant
during my residence in Cuba, am prepared TO
! say with confidence, that it and all lis branches
are well adapted to successful cultivation in Flor
ida, and that the introduction OF the fibre indus
try here, with them as basis, will prove of in
calculable benefit not only in the utilization Of
thousands of acres Of land that useless for all
other agricultural purposes. but in drawing to
our State thousands OF industrious German and
other farmers.
There are many other abTs p rGaaf Pq!n in Cuba
|
f manufactured in Florida. OF these is the PIta
! grass. This grass grows in great lunches or
clumps, about from six to ten feet apart, and
reaching height of five to six feet. 1t has a
blade about half an inch wide and its fibre like
that of the Magney plant, grows in waiery bed
OF pulp. lis leaves blades fringed with
long, fine, sharp needles about The size of m or.
binary sewing needle, and its fibre is MS white as
snow and as fine as the finest fax or linen mate
D | rial. (See notice OF it from N Y Herald VIII Oh
| / 10 har Nv 6lro
plant and will grow well here There is no ma
chinery for the extraction of s fibre in the coun-
tries where II grows; all the fibre utilized is OBJ
7 tanned by hand labor.
My recently patented machinery alone is
, adapted to the rapid extraction of these pulp f.
= bres.
These pulp fbres are all of an independent ma
ture, growing singly and separately in their wa
terry beds contained within the leaf and are not
10 be COMPOUNDED with the bark fibres of hemp.
jute, fax ramie, &C. These latter have 10 I'M
dergo tie process OF rotting by exposure to the,
action OF water and air to destroy The
woody body that the fibre bark clings to. This
q process OF rotiing mildews and decclorizes the
nbres so that il has 10 undergo the bleaching pro-
cess Of strong alkalies to restore its Wilderness
all Of which II is needless to say impairs the
quality of the material. Moreover, the bark has
to undergo the mechanical process of hetching'
> and "combing" 10 make it fit for market, and
+ all these details involve expense and delay
These objections do not apply to the fibre
plants, the production of which in Florida, so
earnestly recommend. They require no other
manipulation than the action of the machine TO
| bring out their abundant yield, as white 40
r snow, after comfort bile bath in pure wafer
To illustrate the money value TO the grower
and 10 the manufacturer of an acre of Maguey.
l present the following facts and figures:
One acre of land embraces 1910 square Yards,
and will conveniently accommodate that nnm-
Der of plants For convenience in cultivation.
place 5000 plants on the acre. Each plant will
| yield IS pounds and upward of leaves per an
mum. 5000 plants, 25 pounds per plant, Weld
J per annum $4,000 pounds. Allow grower one
quarter cent per pound and he has $312 so, or
IS per ton for his raw leaves. 1875 900 pounds
of leaves will yield of fibre, 25 900 pounds or
twelve.and halfto per acre. Allow cents
per pound for extracting $4,000 pounds FIBRE
100000
COST AND VALUE OF MANUFACTURED MATERIAL.
Laying 25, 900 lbs. Of ordinary rope. at IN cents
p., r., g.; ...'..........$ S75O
Market value Of 5000 lbs OF rope at 10 cents
Deduct total cset 1850
Net proht on one acre. .................3 l,3l26o
Cost Of machinery with capacity for extracting 900
| pounds OF fibre per day: